


Tea Time

by zenkitty555



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Break Up, Comfort, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Heartache, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-10-06 22:04:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10345500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenkitty555/pseuds/zenkitty555
Summary: Karl and Wong decided to adopt Karl’s stray, Stephen Strange.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This came out of reading some meta and out of some headcannon about the relationship between the three.

Tea was ritualistic, but also like water to them. It was just part of the daily process of hydrating, but in moments like these it was meditative. Wong needed some meditation today when he had heard about what his partner had done.

“What are you trying to prove?”

“Why do you think I’m trying to prove something?” Karl asked smirking.

“At this point I think I know you well enough.”

He nodded in agreement. Wong came over and wrapped his arms around Karl, tucking the man’s head under his chin.

“It's not your fault.”

“But it is. If I had been more observant, more diligent, he would have never even considered such an affront to the natural law.”

Karl was getting upset again, as he did so often these days. It was hard to watch the man blame himself for Kaecilius and his followers’ defection and descent into zealotry. One man could not control the actions of another, and he needed to realize that. Instead he was picking up strays on the streets. Unfortunately, it wasn't a stray covered in fur.

“I heard your lost cause caused quite a commotion today.”

“He’s not a lost cause. I admit when I watched him, he seemed a little less rude. It was fun watching the Ancient One put him in his place,” Karl said smirking.

Wong remembered when Karl first came to Kamar-Taj, and how difficult he was. At that time, the Ancient One had more time and less difficulties in order to take on such a student. Although at the time he was still learning himself, Wong couldn't take his eyes off Karl, with all of his bravado and playfulness.

“I hope it doesn't come back to bite you,” Wong chided.

“Me too.”

Karl titled his head up for a kiss, and Wong obliged, but it did very little to quell the anxiety he felt about his lover’s emotional stability due to the events of the last few months.

\----

“I met your stray today.”

“You know his name is Strange and not Stray, right?” Karl laughed.

“Delightful man, very endearing,” Wong replied sarcastically.

“He’s not that bad, albeit stubborn and a bit awkward.”

“A bit?”

Karl was being kind, as he normally was when he described his students. Despite his rigid sense of responsibility and ideals, he had a lot of empathy. It was one of the reasons Wong fell in love with him. Even with the man’s bleak past, he still found the good in everyone, unless they proved themselves otherwise multiple times.

Wong though approached people with a sceptical eye. Someone like Strange, who was driven by selfish motives, was unlikely to turn a new leaf, no matter how much time and effort they put into him. Karl was an exception, not the rule, and Wong hoped one day the man would realize it. It would save him a lot of heartache in the long run.

“Let’s not talk about work.”

“What else is there to talk about?” Wong teased.

Karl came up behind him, and wrapped his arms around Wong as he continued to cook them some dinner. Often they ate separately in the mess hall, but occasionally they were allowed some time to themselves and cooked in their shared quarters. Their relationship was an open secret amongst the masters, but the students were none the wiser.

“Smells delicious.”

“It’s just a simple stir fry.”

“I meant you, but that too.”

He could practically hear Karl’s grin, provoking a smile. Karl buried his face into Wong’s shoulder blade, taking in deep breaths. Something seemed to be troubling him.

\----

He was on the way to the library when he saw Karl and Strange in the courtyard. The way they moved and looked at each other struck Wong. He had come to at least respect Strange’s fervor, but his partner seemed genuinely intrigued by the man. The way Karl would talk and laugh about the things Strange did or said was starting to cross the line between a teacher being proud of a student.

Looking at them, he began to understand what had been going on. As the day progressed he began to think about the two men, and what it meant for him.

That night, he decided to broach the topic with Karl. He had to carefully choose his words, otherwise the outcome might be quite different than the one he wanted.

“It seems like Strange is learning well under your tutelage,” Wong ventured.

“Strange thinks he knows best, but for some reason the Ancient One says he listens to me. I don't mind him.”

“He’s attracted to you,” Wong replied.

“No, I’m sure he just has come to think of me as a mentor.”

Karl brushed it off so easily. He was blind to their feelings, as he was a man of morals and principles. He would be with Wong till the end, even if his heart wasn’t in it.

“He thinks of the Ancient One as a mentor. The way he talks about you to the others, you can tell it’s a bit more,” Wong fibbed.

The conversation needed to go a certain way if Karl would accept his proposal.

“Well, it’s only natural for a student to develop affection in the conditions at Kamar-Taj. Thank you for telling me, I’ll be sure to keep my distance a little more.”

It was not the answer he was looking for, but it wasn't a lost cause.

“I wouldn't spurn him if I were you. He barely listens as it is. I think that it might be best if we take a little more care of him actually.”

Karl tilted his head in confusion. He seemed to get the gist of the implication, but wanted clarification.

“Your being cryptic again. Don’t talk around the subject.”

Wong put down the kettle after he finished pouring them some tea. He sighed into his cup.

“It’s only natural that after nearly twenty years that eyes will wander. I know that you would not suggest it, but it may be fun to add some spice into our love life. As long as it's together.”

Karl seemed hurt by the suggestion.

“I love you, and I am not looking at anyone else.”

Wong rolled his eyes, the man could be so dramatic sometimes.

“I know that. You are chivalrous, but chivalry only goes so far. I’m just suggesting that we might want to invite him into our bed for a night. He’s not unpleasant to look at, and these days he’s grown tolerable. I would not object if you wanted to, ah, live out some fantasies we have talked about before. It’s only a suggestion. I’m just saying that the idea has merits.”

Karl looked pensive, considering the proposition. It was a hard topic to broach, but Wong knew his words were not wrong. They sat in silence for a while. Wong returned the book he was reading, trying to gauge Karl’s mood and response from his suggestion. He didn’t want things to sour, or for Karl to become skittish with worry that Wong was not satisfied with their relationship. As he had watched these two other men dance around each other, it interested him. The idea stuck with him, and it seemed to stick with Karl as well.

\----

Karl broached the subject with Stephen one night while Wong was in the library. Wong was a little disappointed not to bear witness to what must have been a surprising and delicate conversation. Not only would the man become privy to the status of their relationship, but to be invited into a threesome at Kamar-Taj would be surprising. He was pretty sure the man had some more outrageous tales of conquest under his belt, but due to the serious nature of their environment, he would not be expecting it.

As Stephen Strange sat on their couch drinking his tea, Wong stared at him. His lanky legs spilled off of the edge if it, and the reddish brown of his trousers contrasted against the light green of the seat. Karl sat next to him, trying to make some small talk about the little he knew about New York.

Stephen looked nervous, and his eyes kept looking over at Wong.

“Look, maybe I should go, I’m not sure this was a good idea.”

Surprised, Karl put his hand gently on Stephen's knee.

“If you're uncomfortable, you can go, and we will forget this, but we do want you here. It’s only that we’ve never done something like this before.”

Stephen looked a little relieved to hear that. He gazed at Karl with so much trust and desire. Wong couldn't help but feel the same.

It had been a long time since he had felt the overwhelming urge to just rip off Karl’s clothes then and there. Most times when they had the energy, it was leisurely sessions in the dark. While it was intimate, he sometimes missed the raw, lust filled sessions of their youth, with him pinning Karl down after a sparring session, or over the kitchen table. He missed the days when they were both students, sneaking kisses in a darkened corridor, or pressed up against the back of a pillar in the court yard. It was amazing that Master Hamir only caught them once out of all those times. 

In some ways, he wanted to recapture that passion with the emotions he saw between Stephen and Karl in the courtyard.

“It will be easier in the bedroom. Unless you want to leave,” Wong spoke up.

Stephen seemed to weigh his options, eventually letting Karl lead him to the bedroom with Wong following behind.

\----

It was only supposed to be a one time thing, but then it turned into a two, three, four time thing and so on, until they stopped counting. At first it was just sex. Then it was dinner and sex. Then it was dinner, sex, and breakfast. Eventually they had come to a point where it stopped being them and Stephen, and it just became them again, with Stephen implied in the word. Then came the day they caught Stephen with the Eye of Agamotto, and Kaecilius with his zealots. It all changed in the blink of an eye, devastating all of them.

Even if he knew where Karl was, or if he could contact him, he knew the man well enough to know that he was changed forever and was not coming back. Wong could see the rejection of everything in his face. Karl felt betrayed by them all when they hadn’t reacted the way he wanted them to. Compounded with the trauma from the past year, he didn't recognize Karl.

That night he held Stephen closely as tears streamed down their faces. Stephen’s sniffles drowned out his own heartache. Wong mourned the loss of his nearly twenty year relationship, while Stephen mourned who knows what. It may have been Karl, or just the whole damn experience he had gone through. Whatever had happened, Wong knew it was one hell of a test for a man who had just been named a master right before. For Wong it was much more than a test, but a trial of will and faith in himself. In some respects, he thought he brought this upon them, because he never could bring himself to make Karl talk about his concerns or worries. He knew that the man had been seriously affected by Kaecilius’ defection, but how deeply he had no idea. He couldn't have predicted the other events that had transpired. Yet, even though he knew he was not responsible for Karl’s defection, in his heart he felt differently. A little voice inside him questioned how much he had contributed to the man’s internal struggle. He thought he maybe should have tried harder.

Later, when the room that housed the portal doors to the other sanctums was repaired, he and Stephen mourned the loss of their Sorcerer Supreme, despite her flaws. In her honor, Wong made sure Stephen could settle in his new role comfortably. From that point forward, they often took comfort in one another's company, and an unspoken agreement hung between them. They would not talk about _them_ , instead Wong would talk about his childhood memories of Guangzhou in the spring, or whatever Stephen needed to hear. In return, Stephen regaled him with tales of settling in New York again and excitement for his new duties.

In the bedroom, they were honest with each other, speaking through their bodies rather than their words. Their pain bled through their moans and cries, while their joys were celebrated through touches and soft laughter. It was cathartic.

It was different now, but Wong didn’t know what he would have done without Stephen. He was positive the other man felt the same. Although life was very different, and their wounds healed slower than they liked, they at least could find solace in each other at the end of the day.


End file.
